Archive | Winter

A robin! Robins are back! Spring is here! Well, not exactly, even if we are going to have spring-like weather this coming week. We assume that all robins fly south in the fall, but some linger here all winter, particularly the males. (They want to be the first ones here in the spring to claim […]

During winter the winds come in crisp and invigorating from across the prairies. At this season of the year the landscape assumes a dreary look to many who do not understand. But to others, when the gray arms of the cottonwood are illuminated by the January sun and silhouetted against the blue sky, when sleeping […]

More Winter Interest Persistent Leaves Some deciduous trees (mostly oaks) hang on to their brown crackly leaves all winter, not dropping them until spring. 12/27/2010 Lord’s Park Lagoon. White Oak (Quercus alba) hangs unto its leaves through the winter when it is young, but as it ages, the leaves fall off in autumn. […]

So long, January 2014 We had a Wolf Full Moon on Jan.15 and a Sundog on Jan. 27. Sundog Jan 27, 2014 Photo by Ben Schwarz Chicago has had 48.6 inches of snow this winter as of 1/31/14 compared with last winter of 2012-2013 of only 30.1” for the whole season. […]

The photos (of your gardens through the year) make me yearn for the garden- yet, remind me that this is the season to rest, recuperate, dream and enjoy the beauty of what I see covered in snow. Jean Muntz Best Prairie Plants for Winter Gardens My Front Yard Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum) Purple Coneflower […]

Out of the bosom of the Air, Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken, Over the woodlands brown and bare, Over the harvest-fields forsaken, Silent and soft and slow Descends the snow. Ralph Waldo Emerson Winter Views At last! Snow! I visited some friends last Thursday, the day after our first […]